Compared to his predecessors, President Ernesto Zedillo has demonstrated
a strong commitment to press freedom and tolerance for criticism, and journalists
have made marked strides toward independence and enterprise during his tenure.
But violence still plagues journalists working in the country: Luis Mario
García Rodríguez, a reporter covering the drug trade, was murdered
in February, and U.S. foreign correspondent Philip True was killed in
December.

At year's end, CPJ was continuing to monitor the investigation into the murder
of True, the Mexico correspondent for the San Antonio Express-News,
who was strangled while reporting on the Huichol Indians in northwestern
Mexico. In response to CPJ's request, President Zedillo committed the Mexican
army to search for True when he was reported missing, and ordered federal
authorities to provide logistical support for the murder investigation.

In late December, Mexican authorities arrested two Indians whom they claimed
had confessed to murdering True because he had taken photographs without
their permission. When the two men were brought into court, however, they
acknowledged killing True but said they had acted in self-defense. They also
said they had been tortured by Mexican authorities.

García, a police reporter who worked for the Mexico City daily La Tarde, was shot dead on a downtown street corner in apparent
retaliation for his reporting on corruption.

More than a year after the assassination attempt on Jesús Blancornelas
in Tijuana, which left the editor of the weekly Zeta gravely
wounded and his bodyguard dead, there have been no significant advances in
the investigation, despite the fact that a gunman killed at the scene was
identified as a member of the Tijuana drug cartel. Blancornelas, who made
a full recovery from his injuries, has published detailed descriptions and
photos of those believed responsible for the attacks.

Drug trafficking, police corruption, and civil conflict in southern Mexico
continue to be the most dangerous assignments for reporters. Journalists,
particularly foreign journalists, working in the states of Chiapas and Guerrero
have to contend with delays, interrogation, and occasional detentions at
government roadblocks. Local consulates also discourage U.S. journalists
with lengthy waiting periods for visas and demands for information on local
contacts. The Mexican federal government has repeatedly assured CPJ that
the visa delays and requests for sources' names are unauthorized.

An attempt to reform and update Mexico's press law -- which defines defamation
as a criminal offense punishable by up 18 months in prison -- was scuttled
in October by media owners, who objected to provisions calling for a government
commission to oversee media concessions. But many Mexican journalists say
that media owners blocked the legislation because it would have required
them to publicize the amount of government advertising they receive. Mexican
newspapers often publish government advertising disguised as news reports.

Mexican journalists have made significant strides in self-defense. The Sociedad
de Periodistas, a press freedom group formed in late 1997, and incorporated
in 1998, has already made an impact. The group was active in demanding security
for poet and newspaper columnist Homero Aridjis, who received repeated death
threats after he spoke out about the lack of press freedom in Mexico. The
group has also pressured the Mexican government to continue the investigation
into the attack on Blancornelas, and has petitioned the government for a
complete investigation into True's murder.